Wire fence building



No. 608,608. I Patented Aug. 9, I.898..

G. KENTCH. v

WIRE FENCE BUILDING APPLIANCE. (Application filed Aug. 26,1897.

UIo Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

TNE NORRIS PETER! m, hom'uwov. wnumamm o. c.

No. 08,608. Patented Aug. 9, I898. a. KENTCH.

WIRE FENCE BUILDING APPLIANCE.

(Application filed Aug. 26, 1897.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

In veni or eoizgefinm Wlz'i'nesses:

Ndnms PETERS 20., PHOTO-LUNG, WASHINGTON. n cy llnrrnn ra'rns :atnr

GEORGE KENTOII, OF STILVVELL, KANSAS.

WlRE-FENCE-BUILDING APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 608,608, dated August 9, 1898. Application filed August 26, 1397. Serial No. 649,671. (No'modeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE KENTCH, of Stilwell, Johnson county, Kansas, have invented certain newand useful Improvements inWVire- Fence-Building Appliances, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to wire-fence-building appliances; and my object is to produce appliances of this character which are eX- tremely simple, strong, and durable of construction and by which a strong and substantial fence maybe built very quickly and easily.

To this end the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents in side elevation a sec tion of a wire fence built with my appliances. Fig. 2 represents in perspective and on a larger scale the appliances in position and securing the stay-wire in position. Fig. 3 represents a view of the same, looking edgewise of the fence and showing the gage-bar broken away. Fig. 4 illustrates the method of securing the stay-wires in position. Fig. 5 represents a portionof the gage-bar and the catch for maintaining. it in its proper posi-.

tion against the horizontal wires of a fence. Fig. 6 representsin perspective the stay-wiretwisting bar.

In the said drawings, 1 designates a post erected vertically in the ground and adapted with others (not shown) to form a support for a wire fence.

2 designates the horizontal wires of such fence, and they are stapled to the post 1 in the customary manner and are arranged at the required distances apart. the customary manner are secured to the end posts (not shown) and at their opposite ends are secured to a wire-tension 3, provided with the customary lugs l, around which the wires are secured and operate in the customary manner. The tension is bifurcated in its opposite end, and journaled therein is a drum Said wires in 5, provided with a ratchet-wheel 6, engaged by a gravity-dog 7. S designates the anchor-post for the fence,

' the same being connected by the wire or ca- 10 designates a bar, in length slightly greater than the height of the fence to bebuilt and provided in its corresponding margins and at distances apart equal to the distance between the Wires of the fence with recesses 11, one only of which is shown. (See Fig. 3.)

12 designates a metal plate which is secured by screws 13 or their equivalents to the bar 10 and bridges the recesses 11, said screws extending through the recesses 11 near the front edge of the plate and bar. Just inward of the same the bar or plate is provided with pins 14,wl1ich project across said recesses, for a purpose which will be presently explained.

A Wire is bent to form the oppositely-projecting loops 15 and 16, the former being of such width as to throw the latter the same distanceapart as the wires 2, so that the gage shall determine the distances apart at which the horizontal wires of' the fence shall be lo- .cated. Theloops 16 are extremely narrow,

so as to snugly embrace the horizontalwires of the fence, and are provided with flaring mouths,whereby the gage is easily and quickly slid into operative position, the adjacent portions of the loops 15 forming such flaring mouths, whereby said wires are guided reliably to position without requiring an independent manipulation. This looped gage wire is secured in position by introducing the closed ends of the loops 16 and the ends of the wire into the recesses 11 and projecting through the same the pins 13 and 14, hereinbefore referred to. .By thisarrangement it is obvious that the gage-wire is secured between the bar 10 and plate 12 reliably and firmly.

Referring now to the appliance for securing the stay-wires in position, it will be noticed in Fig. 6 that it consists simply of a'fiat bar about the same length as the stay-wire and is constructed, preferably, of metal, such as wrought-iron. Said bar is numbered 17 and near one end it is provided with a short lug or hook 18, projecting from one side, and at its opposite side and end it is provided with a similar, but larger, lug or hook 19, the latter being for use principally when stays are being secured to barbed horizontal wires. Outward of the lugs the ends of the bars are of V shape, as at 20, and at the apex of each V-shaped end is a hole or opening 21.

In practice in securing the stay-wire in position the gage-bar is placed with the flaringmouth loops opposite the wires of the fence. It is then shoved forward until said wires rest against the front edge of the gage-bar, as shown clearly in Figs. 2, 3, and 5. When so arranged, if it fits snugly upon the wires it will maintain such position; but if through wear or some other cause it does not fit perfectly, and is therefore apt to slip away or off the wires, it should be provided with a catch or retainer, as illustrated in Fig. 5 most clearly. This comprises a wire 22, pivoted at a suitable point, as at 23, to the side of the bar opposite to that against which the plate 12 is secured and formed with a hook 24 for engagement with the adjacent horizontal wire of the fence, which it presses tightly against the front edge of the gage-wire,and thus maintains the same and the wires in their proper relative position.

To secure the stay-wire 25 in position, it is slipped down a few inches, more or less, through the hole 21, adjacent to the short lug or hook 18, and is bent substantially at right angles coincidental with the upper end of said hole or opening, that its greater portionviz., the portion above the bar-shall rest upon the upper side of the bar. The latter is then arranged substantially as shown in Fig. 2, being hooked, however, to the bottom wire of the fence. In this position the depending portion of said wire intersects the bottom wire of the series of wires 2, which end is grasped with pliers or other suitable means and the bar 17 rotated, with the hook 18 as a fulcrum, around said horizontal wire, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the said wire forming the axis of such rotatable movement. The bar 17 is manipulated thus a sufficient num ber of revolutions, as illustrated in Fig. 4E and numbered 26, to secure it firmly and reliably to said horizontal wire, and there is no chance of the former slipping upon the latter, because its convolutions 26 crimp or bend the wire 2, as shown at 27, thus making it necessary to untwist the stay-wire before it can be shifted or removed.

' After the wire is thus secured the operator disengages the bar 17 from the bottom wire 2 and slips it upward upon the stay-wire a distance slightly exceeding that between the wire 2 and the companion wire just above it.

He then bends the upper portion of the staywire down upon the bar again and engages hook 18 with said second horizontal wire and manipulates the bar to twist the stay-wire, as before. After it is thus secured he slides the bar upward again upon the stay-wire, and the operations formerly described are repeated until the upper end of the stay-wire is twisted firmly upon the topmost horizontal wire. After one stay-wire is secured in place and the bar 17 disengaged therefrom and from the topmost horizontal wire the gage-bar is disengaged from the fence and arranged at another point. Another stay-wire is then secured in position adjacent to the gage-bar, as beforethat is to say, is twisted around the horizontal wires to provide a rigid connection between them-to the end that the distance between said horizontal wires shall be uniform throughout the length of the fence. To present a finished appearance, the stay-wires are also disposed at equal distances apart.

From the above description it will be apparent that a fence thus constructed, while simple, cheap, and durable, is extremely strong and rigid, owing to the fact that the horizontal Wires can neither spread farther apart nor approach nearer together and that the stay-wires thus rigidly connecting them cannot be shifted, owing to the fact that at the points where they are twisted upon the horizontal wires the latter are crimped. It is obvious also that the fence can be built with these appliances in an extremely short time and that the appliances are practically indestructible, as all of the strain comes upon the metallic bar 17, which may be of case-hardened metal, if desired.

It is obvious, of course, that various changessuch, for instance, as casting the gage-bar with flaring arms-may be made without departing from the spirit and scope or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A device for twisting stay-wires on the strand or horizontal wires of a fence, comprising a bar having a tapering or attenuated end, a hole in such end, and a lug or hook adjacent to said hole, substantially as described.

2. A wire-fenoe-building appliance comprising a gage consisting of a recessed bar, a looped wire projecting into the recesses of the gage, a metallic plate secured to the bar and bridging said recesses, and pins projecting through said loops and securing the looped wire in position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE KENTOI-I.

Witnesses:

M. R. REMLEY, G. Y. THORPE. 

